Mute for stringed instruments



I ALPEDERSON MUTE FOB STRINGED INSTRUMENTS Filed May 26, 192g. 2 Sheets-Shea.

- A PEDERSON MUTE FOR STRINGED INSTRUMENTS Filed May 26, 1924 2 sheets-sheet 2 \mnum 1 $715 @alfniimv Patented Oct. 26, 1926.

UNITED star ANTGN PEDERSON, OF

orrroneo, ILLINOIS.

MUTE FOR STRINGED INSTRUMENTS.

Application filed May 26,

The present improvements relate to means for modiiying the tonal vibration of stringed instruments, for instance, of the violin type. Devices for the same general object heretofore known have been described as mutcs "or sordines They are used for damping or inhibiting the normal tonal vibration of the instrument to reduce the amount of vibration, and thus soften the music or render it low as distinguished from the instruments normally loud tonal eifects.

So far as I am aware the only mute or sordine that has been found practical heretofore is a small flat bifurcated piece of wood,

1 hard rubber, bone or similar substance which is applied frictionally to the bridges of in struments of the violin type.

The present improvements accomplish various highly important objects and advantages. One such is the relative permanence of the installation, whereby the necessity for applying the mute at the particular time of use is obviated. Another is ease, simplicity and rapidity of operation, whereby the musician may either dampen the tones or restore the instrument to normal tones by a simple movement of the hand while substantially in the act of playing, meaning that while he is drawing his how, be can with the same hand dampen or undampen the instrument without making much of a departure from the playing stroke, thus rendering possible from the standpoint of time involved the production of desired effects impossible where a mute must be adjusted into position at the time of use and then removed, and in any event, the production of desired effects is greatly facilitated. It is an object also to produce a device for the purpose which will not objectionably interfere with other qualities of the tone of the instrument,

such as timbre. Still other objects and ad vantages will appear hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a fragmentary side view of an instrument of the violin type showing the preferred form of the present improvements as applied for use; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary top view showing the device of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged section as on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view as on the line 4-4: of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is an enlarged end view of the mute looking from right to left in Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the operating lever; Figs. 7 and 8 are views 1924. Serial No. 715,834.

similar to Figs. 1 and 2, but showing a modified form of structure; Fig. 9 shows the structure of Figs. 7 and 8, but with the damping element out of damping position; Fig. 10is a perspective of the same device; Fig. 11 is a front end view; Fig. 12 is an enlarged view on the line 1212 of Fig. 8, and Fig. 13 is a view of the operating lever of the device of Figs. 7 to 12 inclusive.

The musical instrument body 14, the bridge 15, the tail piece 16 and the strings 17, 18, 19 and 20 are to be considered of usual construction and to constitute parts of an instrument of the violin type such as a violin, viola, violincello, or base Viol.

The improved mute is shown as being applied to certain strings as 18 and 19 between the bridge and the tail piece, which is at portions of those strings which are dead or non-tonal. As is well understood, that part of the strings respectively extending from the bridge forward across the finger-board provides the tonal vibrations, which vibrations are communicated through the bridge to the body of the instrument, which body amplifies the vibration and gives it various other tonal characteristics.

In carrying out theimprovements according to Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, I provide a hollow tubular body 20, which may be a piece of thin tubing about one-quarter of an inch in diameter for a mute suitable for a violin of ordinary size, and this body 20 may conveniently be about one inch in length. It is provided with an end wall 21, Fig. 3. adapted to serve as a seat for the coiled spring 22 within it. lVithin the body 20 is slidably mounted a tubular plunger 23 which has an end wall at 24 against which the spring 22 presses. Secured to the body 20, as by soldering or brazing, is a holding member 25 formed with a plurality, as three, upstanding arms 26, 27 and 28 on each side. he upper extremities of the arms 26 and 28 are formed into hooks 26 and 28 respectively adapted to engage 'upon the strings 18 and 19 with the strings normally under the seats provided by these hooks. The arms 27 are respectively provided with seats 27 at their upper extremities which are open normally upward so that the strings 18 and 19 will be normally on top of the seats or hooks 27. The construction is, well' shown in Fig. 2, from which it will appear that the strings 18 and 19 pass normally under the hooks. or seats 26, then over hooks or seats 27, and then again under hooks or seats 28. The several seats engaging the string as 18 and those engaging the string as 19 are preferably so positioned relatively that the device as a whole will be interlocked and also held upon the strings frietionally, and the frictional contact increased by bending the strings somewhat out of their normally straight lines. Thus from F 3 it will be noted that the seats 27 are relatively higher than the seats 23 and 28. The arms 28, '27 and 28 on each side of the device, and their respective seats, are so spaced apart laterally with respect to the normal distance between the two middle strings of the instrument that the device may simply be pusheddownward between those strings until the hooks 26 and 28 are seated upon the strings, whereupon the intermediate portions of the strings may be lifted by the fingers around and into the open-top seats 27 From Fig. 2 it will well be noted that the oppositely-disposed seats 26 are so spaced apart laterally to press the strings 18 and 19 somewhat apart. As a result of such modifications of the taut strings the device becomes firmly held frictionally up on the strings and the over-and-under threading of the strings with respect to the seats 26 27 and 2c 3 produces a loc ting effeet as well. lVhen normally positioned the device cannot move laterally,cannot move up or down, cannot tilt or rock, and because of the strong frictional engagement cannot move longitudinally with respect to the strings.

At the front end of the plunger 23 is a damping element or member 30. It is shown as a cross-piece, which may well be substantially the width'of the bridge, but it may be much shorter. I prefer to use lead as part of the construction of the damper 30, and to that end preferably form it as a channel with a filling 31 of lead. This damper may be of various shapes. It preferably extends a considerable distance on the rear face of the bridge so as to affect substantially uniformly the vibration produced by each of the strings. It may well be curved as shown in Figs. a and 5 following the general curvature of the top of the bridge.

Means for retracting the plunger against the pressure of the spring 22 are shown as a lever 32 which is pivoted at 33 to a pair of ears formed out of the holding member 25. The upper and lower walls of the plunger 23 and tubular body 20 are slotted as at 35 above and 36 below LO accommodate this lever 32. The lever is preferably bent up from thin metal stock as shown in Fig. 6 whereby its two sides are adapted to spring apart sligl'it-ly and maintain a tight fit between the lever and the slots at 35 and 36, thus preventing chattering and interference with the musical tone. To overcome the possibility of other objectionable chattering the plunger is made to slide with a nice lit within the tubular body.

The lever 32 has a short finger-piece extension 37 which is long enough, as well seen in Fig. 1, to project slightly above the plane of the two middle strings for easy movement by the finger or finger and thumb of the operator. From Fig. 6 it will well be noted that there is a notch l0 in the lever defined by rounded edges at ell. From Fig. 3, which shows the plunger in retracted position, it will be noted that the wall of the plunger engages the notch 40, and in that position the plunger is held retracted by that engagement. When the operator desires to dampen the vibrations he simply moves the lever 32 forward, as by putting finger upon the projection 37, or by grasping the projection 37 between the thumb and finger, the construction at the notch permitting movement of the lever in the forward direction, whereupon the spring 22 forces the plunger forward and causes the damper 30 to engage the bridge 15. The shift of the little lever is accomplished by the same hand which is drawing the bow, and can be made in an instant between a forward and back stroke of the how, if desired, at which time the niusicians hand is close to the device, and

the shift can be made in either direction while in the midst of even a rapid passage if desired. k

Referringto the construction of Figs. 7 to 13 inclusive the damping element presses down upon the top of the bridge, and is carried by a spring 51 which bends and forms a body or base 52, and from this base integral side arms 53, 54 and 55 are formed and bent upward and provided with hooks or seats 53, 5st and 55 respectively, adapted to engage the strings of the instrument as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and as already described with respect to the corresponding elements of the device of Fig. 1. To raise and lower the damper 50, a lever 56 is provided having a linger piece 57 and shoulders at 56 adapted to press against the spring plate 51 which is notched at 59 to permit the finger piece 57 to pass through. The lever is bent with a pair of ears 60 to hold its lowerend in position in a small slot or hole in the bottom plate 52. lVhen the finger piece 57 is moved to the rear the damper is raised and is held in that position by the contact of the shoulders 56 with the under surface of the spring 51. When it is desired to dampen the vibrations the linger-piece 57 is moved forward and the damper 50 descends upon the bridge by spring pressure.

In view of the present disclosure it is apparent that a large number of mechanical modifications may be made in the structures illustrated without departing from the invention. For instance there are possible many different arrangements and constructions of holding clips or arms or attaching elements adapted to grip the strings or bind upon them or change their direction up and down or laterally and providing the desired results; and similarly a large number of variations and departures may be made in other features of construction within the improvements set forth. I therefore contemplate as being included herein all such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

It will be noted from the drawings that the device occupies relatively small space; is in an out-of-the-way position; can be easily and readily applied to the instrument for use, and as readily taken away; that it may be adjusted in fore-and-aft directions to suit a particular desired or normal position of the bridge; that it does not touch a part of the structure, when not in actual use, which has tonal vibration, and therefore does not modify the timbre or other qualities of the musical tones; that when in use as a damper it effectively impinges upon the most sensitive portion of the instrument for damping, namely the bridge; that it is simple of construction, not likely to get out of order, and is capable of long use; and, importantly, that it is a substantially permanent installation, always ready for use, and capable of being brought into and taken out of actual use with speed and certainty of action, and without even removing the instrument from its playing position, and without making movements of the players hand or arm which detract from the visual effector from the musical performance, bearing in mind that such an operation as reaching into the pocket for a mute, taking the instrument out of playing position, affixing the mute, and returning the instrument to playing position, are movements distracting to the attention of both the artist and the audience, especially where required to be done hastily, and such movements interfere in various ways with the desired effect. With the present mute in position the artist can stand before his audience or have his place in the orchestra and derive from his instrui'nent all of the effects of muting with out the audience even observing that he has done anything not a part of his playing movements, and without loss of attention by himself to the musical rendition.

I claim 1. In a mute for stringed instruments, the combination of a body, means for securing the body upon strings of the instrument at non-tonal portions of and normally below such strings, said means comprising a series of longitudinally-spacedapart open seats on each side of the body, some of which seats are directed outward and some inward of the strings and alternately over and under which seats on each side of the body taut strings of the instrument may pass, the series of seats on each side of the body respectively being out of a straight line in the direction of a string occupying any series of the seats whereby such taut strings respectively are held out of a straight line by the seats when the device is normally applied for use, and a damping element carried by the body to move into and out of engagement with a tonally-vibratory part of theinstrument, and means for moving said damping element into and out of such engagement.

2. In a mute for a stringed instrument having a bridge for supporting the tonallyvibratory strings, the combination of a body having means for securing it upon strings of the instrument beyond the bridge at and normally below non-tonal portions of the strings, said means comprising a series of longitudinally-spaced-apart open seats on each side of the body, some of which seats are directed outward and some inward of the strings, and alternately over and under which seats on each side of the body taut strings of the instrument may pass, the series of seats on each side of the body respectively being out of a straight line in the direction of a string occupying any series of the seats whereby such taut strings respectively are held out of a straight line by the seats when the device is normally applied for use, a damping element carried by the body to move into and out of engagement with the bridge, spring means for moving said damping element into such engagement, a finger piece for retracting the damping element, and readily-releasable catch means for holding the damping element in retracted position.

3. In a mute for a stringed instrument having a bridge for supporting the tonallyvibratory strings, the combination of a body having a plurality of lateral oppositely disposed arms providing a series of longitudinally-spaced-apart open seats on each side of the body, the seats of each series being out of a straight line in the direction of a string occupying the seats of the series respectively and providing means for securing the body upon strings of the instrument adjacent to the bridge at non-tonal portions thereof and for holding the body frictionally on the strings and in a position normally below and for ready removability therefrom, a damping device carried by the body to move relatively thereto into and out of engagement with the bridge of the instrument, handoperable means for moving the damping device in one direction, and spring means for moving the damping device in the opposite direction.

4:. In a mute for a stringed instrument having a bridge, the combination of a body, means carried by the body for holding it upon strings of the instrument at non-tonal portions thereof rearward of the bridge, a reciprocating member carried by the body mounted to move longitudinally of the strings when the device is normally posi tioned, a dampening element carried by the reciprocating member, spring means for moving the reciprocating member toward the bridge to bring the dampening element into contact with the bridge, and hand-operable means for retracting the reciprocating member, with means for holding the reciprocating member readily releasable in retracted position.

5. The combination with tonal strings and the bridge of a stringed instrument of the violin type, of a tone-damping device body having means for holding it by the tension of the strings of the instrument at and normally below non-tonal portions of the strings adjacent to the bridge, and a damping mem ber mounted on said body to move into and out of engagement with the bridge, spring means for moving the damping member toward the bridge for engagement therewith, and hand-operable means for retracting the damping member from such engagement, with means for holding the damping member readily-releasable in such retracted position.

6. In a mute for stringed instruments of the violin type having a bridge, the combination of a tubular body, a plunger movably mounted therein, spring means for moving the plunger in one direction, hand-operable means formoving the plunger against the pressure of the spring means, releasable catch means for holding the plunger against the pressure of the spring means, means for holding the body on strings of the instrument at non-tonal portions thereof adjacent to the bridge, and damping means at the end of the plunger for contacting the bridge by spring pressure when the device is normally positioned and said catch means are released.

ANTON PEDERSON. 

